Additionally to running off its independent tour a European Tour organisation organises a development tour known as the Challenge Tour, and a European Seniors Tour for over 50s. It as well conducts a Ryder Cup Matches in cooperation with a PGA of America.

History
Agency golf began inside Europe, specifically around Scotland. A 1st agents were clubmakers & greenkeepers world health organization besides taught golf game to a wealthy men world health organization may afford to play the game (early h&-crafted devices was expensive) and played "challenge matches" against 1 a second for little purses. A foremost multi-competitor strokeplay tournament was The Open Championship, which was introduced in 1860. That month it was for agents merely, & attracted the field of eight. A as a consequence season amateurs were permitted to enter. Unlike around several more sports which originated within a United Kingdom, a amateur-agency divide never created major problems in golf game, at least at the elect competitory level.

Above a couple decades ensuing a creation of a Open Championship the total of golf game tournaments by owning prize money increased slowly however steadily. Virtually all were in the United Kingdom, however there were likewise many "national opens" around various countries of Continental Europe. All the same, for numbers of decades it remained hard whenever does'nt impossible for golf player to earn the residing from either prize money alone. From either 1901 a British agents were represented by The Professional Golfers' Association, and it was this person which in the end created the European Tour.

Per post-World War II period prize money was becoming more important, bucked up per introduction of television coverage. All the same for even each one event was organised singly by the golf game club, association, or the commercial promoter. In the U.S. the formal PGA Tour had existed since A Thirties, & around 1972 The Office Golfers' Association introduced a PGA European Tour. Around its early years a year run sise months from either April to October, & was depending completely inside Europe, & chiefly inside Low Britain & Ireland. For instance a 1972 year consisted of twenty tournaments, of which Xii were in the United Kingdom & a single was in the Republic of Ireland. Of the heptad cases inside Continental Europe, six were "national opens", videlicet a Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish & Swiss Opens. A seventh was a Madrid Open.

All over a next troika decades a tour step by step lengthened & globalised. 1982 saw a introduction of a 1st event outside of Europe, viz. the Tunisian Open. In this month there were Twenty-seven tournaments & a year stretched into November first. Inside 1984 a PGA European Tour became independent of The Agency Golfers' Association.

A European Tour has universally been sensitive to the chance that its better players might leave to play on the PGA Tour: two for the higher purses it offers near each week, & to increase their chances of glory in the ternion majors played in the U.S. by acclimatising & swimming supplementary in U.S.-style courses. Inside an attempt to counter this it introduced a "Volvo Bonus Pool" within 1988. This was an additional pot of prize money which was distributed at the prevent of the month to the virtually all successful players of the year - but only golf player world health organization experienced played inside a high total of the European Tour's cases received the part. This technique continued until 1998, when which renewed emphasis was situated within maximising a prize money in single tournaments.

Around 1989 a tour visited Asia first for the Dubai Desert Classic. By 1990 there were 38 cases on a schedule, including 37 inside Europe, & the run of the year got pull away to February. The number one visit to East Asia followed for the 1992 Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok. This hwhen since proved to become one of a virtually all notable initiatives in the history of the tour, as East Asia is becoming about its 2nd front yard. Shortly after a tour too processed its debut in the previous Soviet Bloc at the 1994 Czech Open, however lot less hwhen are of this development as participation within golf game in the area remains sale & sponsors there are unable to compete financially by having their West European competitor for the limited total of slots available on the independent tour every summertime. But a 2nd tier Challenge Tour has visited Central & Eastern Europe somewhat extra often. Inside 1995 the European Tour began a policy of co-sanctioning tournaments sustaining other PGA Tours, by endorsing a South African PGA Championship on the Southern African Tour (nowadays the Sunshine Tour). This policy was reach the PGA Tour of Australasia in 1996, and virtually all extensively to the Asian Tour.

Spell a golf game authorities in a various area of the globe, a lot of which are then independent when the sport has there are no spherical brass, co-work harmoniously tout ensemble, there exists likewise room for competition. A European Tour is very self-conscious all about its position proportional to the PGA Tour, however them stand steadily moved nigher together on the course. Within 1998 a European Tour added a trey U.S. majors to its official schedule. A leading Europeans got entirely been competing around a children for several years, however today their prize money counted towards the European Tour The correct sequence of Merit, which every now and again processed much of difference to the prevent-of-year rankings. A as a consequence month a ternion single World Golf Championships, likewise normally played within America, & also offering far supplementary prize money than virtually all European cases, were constituted & added to the European Tour schedule. Since a minimal total of cases that a streaming video player must play to locate membership of the European Tour has hanker been eleven, this intended that international players may within theory be members of the tour by swimming upright quaternion cases on that apart from either the majors & the World Golf Championships, which altogether elect players enter in any outbreak. Players like Ernie Els and Retief Goosen have taken advantage of this to play a PGA & European Tours at the same time & potentially Tiger Woods, who has occasionally played nine of a necessary eleven cases, another time suggested that he may enter a more quatern compulsory thus that he may win the European The correct sequence of Merit, although he is however to run soh.

Status and prizemoney
These are beyond dispute that a European Tour is the 2nd first tour inside men's golf game, behind a PGA Tour & easily ahead of all the others. What is harder to define is its standing relative to the PGA Tour & whether that has risen or even fallen around recent years. At first of the 2005 year quadruplet of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings were full members of the European Tour, videlicet Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Sergio García and Padraig Harrington. Completely quaternion of the two come too members of the PGA Tour, & it keep close at hand moved to that when their independent or even joint mainside tour fallowing swimming in Europe number one. These are unknown for elect players to move in the paired counsel.

A European Tour is traditionally a number one overseas move for great players from either non-European countries in the Commonwealth, which have hanker been the major source of elect linksman, for instance Greg Norman and Nick Price, and these men tended to move to the PGA Tour as a 2nd step. It seems even so that a European Tour is losing this role, by using a likes of Adam Scott choosing to move directly to the U.S. In addition there is a trend for immature linksman from either a United Kingdom to play in the main on the PGA Tour. Inside a bit of subjects, like that of top twenty graded Luke Donald this is the natural watch across from either ingesting the golf game scholarship at a U.S. university; such scholarships are non available within Europe.

Whenever Continental Europe produced its number 1 spherical golf game stars in the Seventies, like Seve Ballesteros, and especially while Europe began to notch higher convince a United States in the Ryder Cup in a mid 1980s, there was far flung optimism just about the first standing of the European Tour relative to the PGA Tour. This hwhen ebb every bit many major European countries, e.g. Germany & Italy, stand non produced high stratified linksman regularly as was anticipated at that period. Still, a dull European countries which keep around produced winners on the European Tour has increased steadily, by using notable nature and severity inside depth getting in the Scandinavian countries.

A aggregate 2005 quality fund on the PGA Tour is around $250 million. On the European Tour these are across £80 million or even in $150 million, which is sixty percent as much (it international relations and security network't conceivable to give a accurate amount inside any currency until a prevent of the year when there are choice funds in many different currencies, & it is converted into Euros at the each week rate). Nonetheless two one numbers include as much as $50 million inside prize money for sevener co-sanctioned cases, viz. a majors and the World Golf Championships. Excluding these a European Tour offers more or less 50% when much prize money as a PGA Tour. It may be argued that since PGA Tour members will have far additional wins & top x ends within a 7 co-sanctioned cases in recent years, the 50% figure occurs as better reflection of the actual fiscal resources of the European Tour relative to its challenger.

Allowing aside the majors & Globe Golf Championship cases, which are then a virtually all remunerative on the schedule, there exists however tremendously supplementary variation inside quality funds on the European Tour than on the PGA Tour, however 2 key tiers may be identified: victims shortly out of a million Euros, & victims in the 3 to 4 million Euros range. Virtually all of the previous class action come for co-sponsored cases outside Europe & virtually all of the latter come for cases arranged inside Europe. At an rate of exchange of in I.Three Euros to the dollar the richer class action of European tournaments offer simply a trifle less prize money than a average "regular" event on the PGA Tour, using its 200Five prize fund of $5-5.Five million.

A prime funds of several European Tour cases develop increased apace since a late 1990s, & according to plans already announced for a bit of tournaments, this seems placed to prove my point into a 2006 year. (There is a listings of 2005 select funds [http://www.europeantour.com/tournaments/schedule.sps?iTourID=1 here]; note that it is non a lot proclaimed ahead, & victims which come then non fixed within Euros are sole converted into a Euros when a event). Withal around 2005 an increasing total of media attention hwhen been given to the perceived failure of the European Tour to attract when several leading players to its cases as in the recent past. These are unreadable how else this contradiction between a Tour's apparently weakening in-course position & its ostensibly heavy sponsorship position might play call at the future. a role of Asia can be important; withinside June 2005 a recently European Tour sanctioned event in China known as the HSBC Champions tournament was announced for the 2006 season. It have had the purse of $5 million, which is by far the largest ever for a tournament around Asia.

The structure of the European Tour season
Outline of the season
A table following illustrates a structure of the European year. A cases shown come for the 2005 month, however there are single minor variations in the overall pattern from either a single year to the next. Tournaments periodically vary venue, & quite typically vary title, especially whenever it make their way a freshly sponsor, however a primary cases st& fixed & traditional pages in the schedule, and this determines the rhythm of the year.

Since 2000 a season has actually began late in a last calendar month, however a seasons come however known as by calendar year, like than for instance 2004-05 to reflect the actual span of play. A 2005 schedule includes troika cases held late in the last season. Everthing of the cases higher until late March choose place outside of Europe, & virtually all one come co-sanctioned by owning more tours. A 2005 year includes 5 cases around China (with 1 within Hong Kong), two cases within South Africa, and individual cases around Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Wholly quartet major championships come official stops on a European Tour, when are the trine single World Golf Championships cases, and a majority one events occur in the U.S. from either either about a prevent of March a tour plays principally withwithin Europe, & a cases in its page continent usually stand higher prize money than victims elsewhere, apart from a ones in the U.S. A year finishes using a Volvo Masters, the same of the PGA Tour's Tour Championship, which is normally scheduled to endwise the endure Sunday of October.

Schedule
A every week figures come victims utilized per Official World Golf Rankings, which apply to cases in all the independent men's golf game tours.

Week	Tournament	Carrier united states	Notes
48	Volvo China Open	China	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
49	Omega Hong Kong Open	Hong Kong, China	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
L	Dunhill Championship	South Africa	co-sanctioned with a Sunshine Tour
Four	South African Airways Open	South Africa	co-sanctioned with a Sunshine Tour
Fivesome	Caltex Masters presented by Carlsberg	Singapore	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
Captain hicks	Heineken Classic	Australia	co sanctioned with PGA Tour of Australasia
Seven	Holden New Zealand Open	New Zealand	co sanctioned with PGA Tour of Australasia
Ogdoad	Carlsberg Malaysian Open	Malaysia	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
Nina from carolina	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	United States	World Golf Championship
X	Dubai Desert Classic	United Arab Emirates	in Asia, but not co-sanctioned
Xi	Qatar Masters	Qatar	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
Dozen	TCL Classic	China	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
Baker's dozen	Enjoy Jakata Standard Chartered Indonesia Open	Indonesia	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
Xiv	Estoril Open de Portugal	Portugal	First event in Europe
Xv	The Masters (April)	United States	Major
Fifteen	Madeira Island Open	Portugal	Secondary to the Masters
Xvi	Open de Espana	Spain
Xvii	Johnnie Walker Classic	China	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
Eighteen	BMW Asian Open	China	co-sanctioned with a Asian Tour
Nineteen	Telecom Italia Open	Italy
Xx	Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters	England
Xxi	Nissan Irish Open	Republic of Ireland
Twenty-two	BMW Championship	England	The tour's "home tournament"
Xxiii	Celtic Manor Wales Open	Wales
Twenty-four	KLM Open	Netherlands
25	U.S. Open (June)	United States	Major
25	Aa St Omer Open	France	secondary to the U.S. Open
Xxvi	Open de France	France
Twenty-seven	Smurfit European Open	Republic of Ireland
Twenty-eight	Barclays Scottish Open	Scotland
Twenty-nine	The Open Championship (July)	United Kingdom	Major
Xxx	Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe	Germany
31	Scandinavian Masters by Carlsberg	Sweden
32	Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles	Scotland
33	PGA Championship (August)	United States	Major
33	Cadillac Russian Open	Russia	Secondary to the PGA Championship
34	WGC-NEC Invitational	United States	World Golf Championships
35	BMW International Open	Germany
36	Omega European Masters	Switzerland
37	Linde German Masters	Germany
38	HSBC World Match Play Championship	England	16 man matchplay event. Greatest First prize within golf game.
39	Seve Trophy	varies	Team event
Xl	Dunhill Links Championship	Scotland	Celebrity pro-am
41	WGC-American Express Championship	varies	World Golf Championships
41	Abamba Open de Canarias	Spain
42	Madrid Open	Spain
43	Mallorca Classic	Spain
44	Volvo Masters	Spain	The "tour championship"

For the latest version of the tour schedule on the European Tour's internet site, by using this season's tournament dates, champions' list, prize fund numbers & links to to the full outcomes, mouse click [http://www.europeantour.com/tournaments/schedule.sps?iTourID=1r here].

Order of Merit winners
A European Tour's money listings is referred to as a "Order of Merit". These are estimated withinside Euros, although a few of the cases stand prize funds which are then fixed in British Pounds or even U.S. Dollars. Around these cases a numbers come converted into Euros at a rate of exchange for a week that the tournament is played.

Season	Sequentially of Merit leader	United states	Earnings (€)
2004	Ernie Els	South Africa	4,061,904
2003	Ernie Els	South Africa	2,975,374
2002	Retief Goosen	South Africa	2,360,127
2001	Retief Goosen	South Africa	2,862,806
2000	Lee Westwood	England	3,125,146
1999	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	1,822,880

As much as 1998, a Sequentially of Merit was estimated inside British Pounds.

Season	Choose of Merit leader	United states	Earnings (£)
1998	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	993,077
1997	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	798,947
1996	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	875,146
1995	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	835,051
1994	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	762,719
1993	Colin Montgomerie	Scotland	613,682
1992	Nick Faldo	England	708,522
1991	Seve Ballesteros	Spain	545,353
1990	Ian Woosnam	Wales	574,166
1989	Ronan Rafferty	Northern Ireland	400,311
1988	Seve Ballesteros	Spain	451,559
1987	Ian Woosnam	Wales	253,717
1986	Seve Ballesteros	Spain	242,208
1985	Sandy Lyle	Scotland	162,552
1984	Bernhard Langer	Germany	139,344
1983	Nick Faldo	England	119,416
1982	Greg Norman	Australia	66,405
1981	Bernhard Langer	Germany	81,036
1980	Greg Norman	Australia	74,828
1979	Sandy Lyle	Scotland	49,232
1978	Seve Ballesteros	Spain	54,348
1977	Seve Ballesteros	Spain	46,435
1976	Seve Ballesteros	Spain	39,503
1975	Dale Hayes	South Africa	20,507
1974	Peter Oosterhuis	England	32,127
1973	Tony Jacklin	England	24,839
1972	Peter Oosterhuis	England	18,525
1971	Neil Coles	England	10,479

A European Tour officially began inside 1972 [http://www.europeantour.com/tournaments/fullreport.sps?iTourNo=2004025&id=1102364], however there exists an Sequentially of Merit listing for 1971 on the Tour's official places & unofficial or even semi-official money lists existed prior to that. For to the full Choose of Merit details for both year from either 1971 forrader doubleclick [http://www.europeantour.com/stats/OrderOfMerit.sps?iTourID=1 here].